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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Starting a blog!
Hello Everyone! Thanks for all the positive comments about this site.I am starting a diary
to keep everyone informed about the problems and decisions that arise.Please check back often for updates.
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2009.03.01
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2009-03-19
I made an appointment
to have the body soda blasted and the frame sand blasted the first week in May.Before then I need to get the body off the
frame and stripped.Before removing the body I need to fix a few problems.The first one is in the next link,Restoration Problems.
2009-03-27
As you can
see in the body section some of the problems have been fixed.Next week I'll work on the fender problem and disasemble
more of the body.I'm finishing up the white car (look in the garage link} and take parts off the red car to assist in
remembering how to assemble the other car.
2009-04-03 A discussion about the
pro's and con's of soda blasting came up.The question is about the ability to get all the soda residue out of the
hidden area's so it doesn't affect the paint in the future.The plan was to soda blast the body and sand blast the
frame and underside.Plan B would be to DA the sheet metal instead of the soda.I'm going to investigate a little more,talk
to the blaster and decide which is the best way for this project.
2009-04-28 Yesterday the blaster
called and was planning to come on Friday,May 1st. A date was set for May 8th because the body was not off the frame yet.Much
work has to be done before friday.
2009-05-06 After a few delays with rain and other problems
I think we have a solid date for blasting on Monday,May 11.I don't expect to complete this project without making some
mistakes.I may have wasted time working on some problems before taking the body off .
2009-05-07 Been putting in some
long hours getting ready for the blaster.There is a ton of under coating on the body.I hope I can be ready by monday.I still
haven't decided whether to paint the frame or PC it.Going to have to decide soon because after blasting it monday will
have to either prime or prep it for PC.
2009-05-14 I didn't expect
this much work to get the body ready for blasting and had to re-schedule for the week of the 25th.I finally have all the under
coating off and ready to presure wash the body.It was important to take the time to get the body clean before blasting.
2009-05-23 The car was blasted on
the 20th and has been primed.The next item is ordering a few body panels and start working on the body.
2009-05-29 Because the car came from Michigan there were a few more suprises after
blasting the body.Thinking about the future of the car,I thought about not reveiling all the problems concerning the body.The
web site would be great documentation to dispose of the car if it had to be sold.I'm not planning to sell the car nor
live forever and down the road I'll let someone else deal with that situation.After some thought the car is what it is
and I'm going to proceed as planned hop-ing some of the information will be helpful to others.
2009-05-29 I've been working on the body
and decided to tackle the rust hole in the spare tire well first.This problem has been solved to my satisfaction but because
of the odd shape it took longer than I anticapated.When I get time I'll post pictures in the restoration problems link.
2009-06-01 The floor repair panels
came and so I cut the rusty panel out today.I also updated my mig welder to run .023 wire instead of .030. I test welded
some sheet metal and it works great.With the floor panel out it makes it easy to work on the vent door area and the body mounts.When
removing this section I have to be careful not to change the structure of the body so I'm planning to mount the body back
on the frame after I 'm done welding to finish the body work.
2009-06-13 After putting in a week of work the left side vent area,the inner rocker
panel and the left inner fender corner panel have been replaced.With the bottom rear front fender and the floor panel cut
out it was accessible to do a decent repair.I've been tuning up my welding skills on areas that don't show or show
very little.Next week I'll replace the left side floor panel,two of the three body mounts and the bottom rear front fender
panel.I'm about half finished on the left side.The right side of the car will take less work.
2009-06-21 It's been a
busy time and because of the surprises I found after sand blasting I haven't keep the restoration problems link up to
date as well as I should have.I'm also re-designing this link to make it more user friendly.I planned on 2 weeks
to weld in some body mounts but instesd it will be 2 months to do what needs to be done.I will say things are moving along
well.
2009-06-25 It's 90 here
today and a good time to stay inside and work on the site.I ordered a few more sheet metal panels today so until they get
here I'm moving from the rear quarter to the front fender problem I never finished.
2009-07-04 The
rear quarter inner fender repair panels came yesterday so next week I will work on the rear quarter.When this is replaced
all the panels will be welded in on the left side.The right side isn't as bad and should go faster.
2009-07-14 I
finally finished up welding all the panels on the left side.I have a little grinding left and some body filler to
spread to cover the welds.I think I"ll take a little break before starting on the right side and start that pretty motor.I
have it sitting on a cart with a radiator mounted in front and planing on mounting the trany and clutch so it's
ready to set in the frame with very few problems.
2009-07-31 I was getting burned out
on body work and needed a change to something else.When I put discriptions under the pictures on this site it takes lots
of time to think it through so I decided to put some pictures on and fill in the discriptions later when I have more time.
2009-08-11 Happy to have the engine
running and will now get back to the body.In Ohio we've had the coldest tempeture so far this year on record which made
it nice working on the car.The last few days the tempture has turned around so I'm catching up on this site.
2009-09-04 Today I went to the
VTCI car show at Coshocton Oh.and stopped at CASCO parts and restoration business.Every business should have a Don as he gave
us a tour and explained the history of the growth and capabilities of CASCO.I was very impressed by his knowledge and PR skills.
I'm only a month behind on my restoration project as I wanted to be applying paint to
the body by now.I'm about ready to set the body back on the frame for the final door and trunk lid fit and finish the
blocking.I need to get this car painted before it gets cold.
2009-09-06 Today my mustang was in
a movie,look at picture #2 in friends rides.The car didn't miss a cue and is photogenic.It was a good experience for both
of us.Maybe I can get a little video and put on this site later.
2009-09-28 I still don't
have the body back on the frame for door,hood and trunk lid fit.I'm going to spray Eastwood Encapsulator on both sides
of the floor pan first.Hope to set it on the frame in a week.I'm a little concerned about priming the body (2 part primer)
and spraying the top coat with little drying time on the primer.I have too much time on this project to do short cuts now.
2009-11-13 The body has been set
back on the frame for a couple of weeks now and have been working on door and hood gap.I had to do some major surgery to get
the gaps acceptable.I'm now applying some body filler and blocking for a smooth finish.I'm not meeting my goal
to have the body painted by now and will have to decided weather to wait until spring and work on the frame.
2009-12-05 The weather is turning too cold to do much painting,19* this morning.I'm
ready to prime the body and will do so in the next few days.I will wait until March to block the primer and paint the color.In
the mean time I will take the body back off the frame to restore and mount the engine.
2009-12-09 Primed the body yesterday
and today we have 50 MPR winds and the temperature falling to 13.
2009-12-20 Decided to go ahead and fill any pin holes, sand and prime
again.When block sanding the primer putty, a few places went though to the body filler.A few areas were not quite straight.The
body looks good now and I'm so burnt out from sanding that it's time to let it rest until spring and work
on the frame.
2009-12-24 Having the body off the frame,it's stripped and
ready for repairs and paint.It's nice to work on something different.I'm behind my June schedule but making progress.Going
to midnight mass and enjoy the holidays.Merry Christmas.
2010-01-01
This is a time to reminisce about the past and think about the new year.Although I'm two months behind on this project
it has progressed well considering all the unexpected problems that occured.I know I would be further behind if it wasn't
for my many helpful friends on the Thunderbird list who have given me good advise and motivation.I'm still planning to
have the car finished for the Dayton show and hope to meet many of the guys who have helped with this restoration. Happy New
Year
2010-01-02 I started the new year with
a bang.I ordered a new stainless steel exhaust system,a set of Diamond Back tires and thinking about a stainless steel bolt
kit from e-bay.
2010-01-09 I'm getting the
parts ready for plating by sandblasting the back side of the bumpers and selecting the parts that need to be done.It's
cold blasting outside but I think it will be better to make sure all rust is removed.
2010-01-16 I took
the rear springs to a spring shop to have them re-arked,$20 ea.Yesterday they called and said to pick them up,there no good
and need to be replaced.One of the leafes broke during the progress.The SS exhaust,tires and SS bolt kit have arrived.I'm
going to catalogue some parts today and set up a used computer in the shop to make the process more user friendly.
2010-01-20 Loaded up and delivered all parts to be plated.I'm hoping
they will do a good job with them.Ground off the front motor mount and welded on the new one.
2010-02-17 Thought I'd better
do some up-dating or you all might think I'm dead.The weather here is COLD.I heard that for the first time in many years
Lake Erie is completly frozen over.I haven't done much in the last month but I'm still going to try finishing this
project by June 15th. So if anyone is checking this site I'll try to keep it up dated as the wrenches and paint will be
flying.
2010-02-20 It's a little warmer today and no wind and time to do more
outside sandblasting.Five wheels and brake and front end parts are ready for paint and PC.
2010-02-26
I've been sandblasting small parts and powder coating them but had a set back today.I had a problem with the oven and
will try to get it fixed ,but I can always prime and paint to stay on schedule.I think PC is more durable and easier to clean.
2010-03-11 Powder coating oven is up and running again and
have completed cleaning and PC black on the small parts.I have a few to PC silver and red.I have a few small parts to prime
and paint black and red before I spray the rear axle and frame.
Before I PC the air ducts I
remembered people having trouble fitting them in the fenders and since I reworked the scoop area I tried installing them.I
spent two days working with them for an easy install.
To stay on my time frame I have to have
the engine installed in the frame by the end of the month??
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